# Sarah Palin's style - now you can buy it



## Darla (Sep 16, 2008)

and now even the Wall Street Journal is getting into the act, check out this article about the style of Sarah Palin.

source

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*Palin's Style Sparks Buying Frenzy, *

And Fashion Firms Rush to Cash In

*Wig Sellers Capitalize on Upswept Hairdo; *

Naughty Monkey's Red Heels Get a Lift

*By ELLEN BYRON*, *JENNIFER SARANOW* and *RACHEL DODES*

September 12, 2008; Page A1

Fashion companies have discovered a lucrative new marketing vehicle: Sarah Palin.

Since John McCain chose her last month as his running mate, Gov. Palin's personal style has sparked a buying frenzy. Many women are snapping up her choices of shoes and eyeglasses and blogging about which brand of lipstick she wears. Hairstylists and wig sellers report sudden demand for her trademark up-dos. Indeed, the brands behind Gov. Palin's fashion taste have gone into overdrive seeking to cash in on the association.

On Wednesday, WigSalon.com issued a news release boasting that it has wigs and hair pieces "that reflect the new looks made popular by Sarah Palin," along with style tips to "instantly" achieve the swept-back style.

"Obviously we're going to get a jump from this," says Joe Aronesty, owner of WigSalon.com. In the past week, the company has sold about 25 Palin-esque wigs, ranging in price from $100 to the "Bargain Sarah Palin" wig for $46. "And it's not even close to Halloween," Mr. Aronesty says. Early next week, Mr. Aronesty plans to send a newsletter to his 25,000 subscribers highlighting Palin wig options and styling tips.

Fashion firms have long boasted when celebrities and first ladies wore their clothing and accessories, of course. Jacqueline Kennedy lent cachet to Oleg Cassini gowns and Halston pillbox hats during the 1960s. This year, the sight of Michelle Obama in a $148 black-and-white tank dress on ABC's "The View" in June helped popularize Chico's FAS Inc.'s White House|Black Market brand. But the prospect of having a national candidate who is a former beauty queen and in the news every day is even better for business, many fashion companies say.

*The Naughty Monkey Line*

Gov. Palin's spokeswoman, Maria Comella, declined to comment on any aspect of the governor's personal style.

Jay Randhawa, a brand director at House of Brands Inc. in San Diego, says he was surprised to learn that Gov. Palin was introduced as Mr. McCain's vice-presidential choice wearing a red pair of peep-toe pumps with 3Â½-inch heels. The shoes, marketed by his company's Naughty Monkey line, generally are geared to women in their early to mid-20s who go clubbing, he says.

"The age bracket we target is a little younger. It's a very edgy, very hip, very street brand," adds Mr. Randhawa.





Celebrities like Paris Hilton had been photographed in the brand's shoes, but seldom, if ever, a 40-something politician.

Mr. Randhawa says he realized that Gov. Palin's footwear choice offered the chance to pitch the Naughty Monkey line to a new demographic. The company quickly sent out emails to its retailers with a photo of the Alaska governor wearing the shoes and the slogan "I vote for Naughty Monkey!"

At Amazon.com Inc.'s Endless.com shoe unit, sales of the red Naughty Monkey shoes shot up 50%, to thousands of pairs, says Mr. Randhawa.

A spokeswoman for Endless.com declined to provide specific sales data but says the unit "saw definite spikes in sales after Sarah Palin wore the shoes" and sold out in four sizes. Other retailers reported similar increases.

Mr. Randhawa plans to send Gov. Palin some additional pairs of shoes and approach her about some kind of partnership. "We have to capitalize on it pretty soon," he says.

Gov. Palin's eyeglasses -- rimless $375 frames made by Kazuo Kawasaki (style series 704, color 34) -- are on back order, says Amy Hahn, vice president of Italee Optics Inc., the brand's U.S. distributor. To keep up with orders, which have more than quadrupled since the Republican National Convention, manufacturing has shifted to a 24-hour production cycle, Ms. Hahn says.

Italee executives say they sensed a possible business opportunity when Gov. Palin donned the glasses for her formal introduction as Sen. McCain's running mate.

Spotting the familiar frames, Italee executives dug through their records until they confirmed that the company handled Gov. Palin's order for the custom frames in December, Ms. Hahn says. "But the turning point was at the convention," she says. "The next day, our phone started ringing off the hook. Now we're doing everything we can to keep up."

John Barrett, whose salon sits in the penthouse of tony New York retailer Bergdorf Goodman, says that in the past week he has given five clients the loosely tied-back hairstyle Gov. Palin wore during the convention. "People are requesting it -- it shows off the cheekbones," says Mr. Barrett. "I can't emphasize enough how her angled bangs and hair color are so beautifully executed."

Online detectives, meanwhile, continue debating which lipstick brand Gov. Palin wore during her convention speech. And the Web site of beauty magazine Allure suggests "Pitbull-friendly" and "Pig Appropriate" colors to try, alluding to Gov. Palin's joking comparison of herself to a lipstick-wearing pitbull and Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama's reference to Mr. McCain's economic policy as "lipstick on a pig."

*'Go Girl!'*

In her home state, retailers are looking to capitalize on the governor's patronage. Just before she was offered the nomination two weeks ago, Gov. Palin went shopping at Out of the Closet, an Anchorage-based secondhand store, with her 14-year-old daughter Willow and her infant son Trig. She picked up a Juicy Couture coat for Willow and a tweed blazer for herself by Escada, which is one of her favorite labels, a saleswoman says.

The saleswoman, who gave her first name as Alison but wouldn't disclose her last name, says Gov. Palin comes in often and is friendly with the store's owner, Ellen Arvold. Ms. Arvold says Gov. Palin has shopped at the store since before she became governor. She confirms that Gov. Palin has worn some Out of the Closet purchases on TV since she clinched the nomination, but declined to say when.

A spokeswoman for the Escada label said she was unable to identify any of Gov. Palin's outfits on the campaign trail as Escada and was unaware that the governor liked the brand.

But Out of the Closet couldn't resist some publicity. On Sept. 1, the store posted an item on its blog: "Finally, we are thrilled that our favorite Governor is making such a name for herself on the national stage! Go Girl! We love seeing you in your Out of the Closet duds!" Shoefly + Hudsons, the Juneau boutique where Gov. Palin bought the Naughty Monkey heels, has the shoes prominently displayed on its Web site declaring: "First Stop: Shoefly + Hudsons, Second Stop: Run for Vice President of the U.S.?"

Not everyone is cashing in on their association with the Alaskan governor. The famously liberal New York fashion establishment seems to have paid little attention to Gov. Palin while publicly embracing the Obamas.

Vogue Editor Anna Wintour and designer Calvin Klein held a fund-raiser for the Democratic nominee in June, and over a dozen designers, including Diane von Furstenberg, Marc Jacobs, Vera Wang, Narciso Rodriguez, Tory Burch and Isaac Mizrahi, have designed T-shirts and other merchandise for the Obama Web site.

Steven Kolb, executive director of the Council of Fashion Designers of America, says he "couldn't envision" that the fashion industry would be lending its design talents to the Republican ticket.

Likewise, Patagonia Inc., which Gov. Palin has identified at least partly in jest as one of her favorite designers, has "absolutely no" plans to promote the association, says company spokeswoman Jen Rapp.

"Patagonia's environmental mission greatly differs from Sarah Palin's," Ms. Rapp says. "Just wearing the clothing of an environmental company does not necessarily make someone an environmentalist."

*--Ray A. Smith contributed to this article.*


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## pinksugar (Sep 16, 2008)

interesting. I wanted pics of the shoes, lol.


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## StereoXGirl (Sep 16, 2008)

I find it interesting that people are so interested in what she's wearing...


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## Karren (Sep 16, 2008)

Lol... Shaundra!! I'm always interested in your you girls are wearin!!





But I agree!!

So what type of wing tips does John McCain wear any way?? I got to get a pair of those!!


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## Darla (Sep 16, 2008)

I am most surprised about the interest in her clothes. i haven't seen anything that i thought was really outstanding.

Her updo is interesting like the "Sexy Librarian" kind of thing.

SHoes, yes i do remember a picture of her shoes, there was an AP pic of nothing but her shoes in front of the podium and i recall someone remarking that maybe that was a little sexist.


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## Adrienne (Sep 16, 2008)

It's really funny that with Hilary and Sarah so much was focused on their fashion. Remember when *gasp* Hilary showed a little cleavage? I do like Sarah's glasses though.


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## magneticheart (Sep 16, 2008)

I don't get the big hoo-ha to be honest.

She doesn't look BAD but then again I'm not really a fan. It's just...suits. Anyone can wear a suit, it's not like she's the first person to do it lol


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## LookLovely429 (Sep 16, 2008)

Why is it that what she is wearing is so important? This country is in a bad way economically. I am glad to know that her glasses can be purchased for $375 yet it millions of people are loosing jobs...let's put it on a credit card! I am tired about who lives in what house and how many homes they may or may not own...when there are people loosing homes or can't even get into a home.

I love America but we are truly making ourselves look like fools.


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## Darla (Sep 16, 2008)

Originally Posted by *LookLovely429* /img/forum/go_quote.gif Why is it that what she is wearing is so important? This country is in a bad way economically. I am glad to know that her glasses can be purchased for $375 yet it millions of people are loosing jobs...let's put it on a credit card! I am tired about who lives in what house and how many homes they may or may not own...when there are people loosing homes or can't even get into a home.
I love America but we are truly making ourselves look like fools.

i hear you and i understand where you are coming from. You should be posting in the politics section, we'd love to have you as you have a strong opinion. 
I posted this because it is current and people are looking for it. We have this woman who practically noone knows and I think there is a lot of interest in everything about her. Let's face it all of the other candidates are men and so they all wear suits and how boring is that? Well except for Hilary, and no one was getting excited about her pant suits.


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## reesesilverstar (Sep 16, 2008)

Well... Businesses have to stay afloat. So they have to create more hype for us robots out here... Haven't you realized, we're incapable of building personal style or individual preferences. Everything we feed into has been predetermined for us, and we simply respond by buying...

It's sad really... But it's been done for years. Gov. Palin is a celebrity now, and so there are many women who've decided to make her style theirs...


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## Ronni (Sep 16, 2008)

Who the H--- cares.

BTW, scary that she might have to face Putin in a showdown; God help us all!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


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## Domitilla (Sep 17, 2008)

well, who cares? I mean was she choosen only for her image? In some way this is a proof of the fact that image is everything, she's threated like a style star but in the end she's not that special (not a big fan, I'm a lefty and start to get a bit nervous when I hear people talking the way she does about sex, guns, rights, abortion etc), and people should care about other things, like the fact that for what we can see here in Europe USA economy isn't exactly at his top (not that we are doing better...)...BTW we have the same problem, as it seems that one of the biggest interests of our premier is to have plastic surgery and to look young. But I'm off topic so I'll stop


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## Ronni (Sep 17, 2008)

I agree with all your points Domitilla except about guns. I have a concealed carry permit and believe in all the Bill of Rights. I'm a packin girl who knows how to use it! LOL Ronni


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## CellyCell (Sep 17, 2008)

Originally Posted by *magneticheart* /img/forum/go_quote.gif I don't get the big hoo-ha to be honest.She doesn't look BAD but then again I'm not really a fan. It's just...suits. Anyone can wear a suit, it's not like she's the first person to do it lol

Haha, exactly.When I think of suits... well, actually I never do... it's zzzz fashion to me.


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## CharleneT (Sep 26, 2008)

Must be part of the minority, but I really do not like her style that much. Not bad, not great either. She does have a very nice face and great smile.


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## bella1342 (Sep 26, 2008)

I think I'd be more interested in what McCain's wife is wearing... she's been wearing a lot of pretty bright colors lately. Palin looks boring... although that is more my style. (I guess that means I'm calling myself boring... lol!) I'm sometimes afraid of color. I can't really see anything trend-setting about Palin's clothes but then again I don't really think they should be. She looks like a Vice Pres. candidate should.

As far as people being so interested in what she's wearing, I think they usually do that when a person comes into the limelight. They did that with Hillary Clinton... there was a few spreads on Cindy McCain and Michelle Obama already. There was a big craze over the White House/ Black Market dress Michelle Obama had on. I just think the media and mags focus on the women's wardrobe... be it the first lady or a vice president nominee.


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## CharleneT (Sep 27, 2008)

I think it is too bad to focus on only the ladies dress... of course, but the guys are pretty boring ( I DARE one of them to wear a tie other than bright red and middle tone blue...). I think the classy looking lady is Ms. Obama. Really great dresser, looks great and sexy all at once. She has a lot of class. Mrs. Mc Cain has very nice clothes but those things are stratosphere expensive ( one outfit was $300,000).

Charlene


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## Bec688 (Sep 28, 2008)

After all this hype I would have expected these shoes to be one killer pair, I did some research and these are the shoes she was wearing. They're ok, but not worth all the fuss.


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## Jacky Lucent (Oct 31, 2008)

*I agree Rebecca. They're OK but even I have a few red peep toes that I think are cuter.*


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## RoxRae (Oct 31, 2008)

When I saw how pretty she is I figured she would have quite an impact on styles, etc. I personally love her hair and think it is beautiful. She's a very beautiful and stylish woman in my opinion.


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## S. Lisa Smith (Nov 1, 2008)

Interesting post.


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